Machine and method for making book matches



9, 9 c. GUSTAVSON ET AL 1,870,955

MACHINE AND METHOD FOR MAKING BOOK MATCHES Filed Dec. 15. 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet l I N VE N TOR. C/zo'r/es Gusfavson fan aro V077 Hoofsfad/ J 2 0 Green-baa? mf MA A TTORNE Y.

A g- 1932- c. GUSTAVSON ET AL 1,870,955

MACHINE AND METHOD FOR MAKING BOOK MATCHES Filed Dec. 15, 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 II D F [I u W buuuvwvuuvwuvu uwn wcww m I N V EN TOR. Uzar/es Gusfdvsor: fdward 1 00 l/oafsfaaf Leo $ree/7baum A TTORNE Y.

gc. GUSTAVSON ET AL 1,870,955

MACHINE AND METHOD FOR MAKING BOOK MATCHES' Filed Dec. 15. 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 o o o o o o o o l E- o "u" 0 Hro -uo O -uo f 4a xy- 10 INVENTOR Cherries 605104 50/7 Edward Van f/aofisfo'af Zea Gree/waum .4 TTO RAE Y.

Patented Aug. 9, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CHARLES GUSTAVSON, OF WOODSIDE, LONG ISLAND, EDWARD VAN HOOFSTADT AND LEO GREENBAUM, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNORS TO LION MATCH 00., INC., 01'! NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK MACHINE AND METHOD FOR MAKING BOOK MATCHES Application filed December 15, 1930. Serial No. 502,350.

This invention relates to methods and machines for forming match cards or combs for book matches. These cards or combs are made from cardboard comb stock which is fed from a roll to the machine, and therein cut to form comb strips which are subsequently longitudinally divided into individual combs, each having a plurality of integrally united, individually removable, splints. Prior to this invention there were two known methods of cutting match combs from comb stock. One involved the cutting of a comb while it rested upon a cutting bed, while the other involved the cutting of the comb through the employment of shearing dies, and more particularly, male an female dies.

Heretofore where it has been desired to cut comb stock against a bed, it has universally been the practice to employ'a'soft material for the bed. Rubber, copper, aluminum, wood and similar soft beds have been employed so that when the knife or knives have been forced through the stock and into engagement with the bed, the soft texture of the bed will not harm or dull the cutting edges of the knives. It has been a universal rule of practice, prior to this invention, that where a cutting knife is brought into engagement with a cutting bed, the bed must be of soft material. The disadvantage, however, of employing a soft bed is that it yields materially under the pressure of the knife or knives and, as a result, the cut is never a clean cut, but exhibits ragged edges where the fibres of the stock are torn asunder. One outstanding practical disadvantage, aside from the inferiority of the product as stated, resides in the fact that it is practically impossible to use soft material beds for any appreciable period. They become so badly indented, scarred and cut after relatively short periods that they require renewal.

For these reasons the use of soft beds and the forcin of knives through comb stock against suc beds has never been commercially practiced to any pronounced degree.

Another mode of cutting according to prior practice is to place the stock on a cutting bed,

and then cut the stock with knives so delicately adjusted that they are presumed to cut through for just the thickness of the stock, being stopped short abruptly prior to actual contact with the cutting bed. Such constructions require the most minute adjustment, and in prior machines where such constructions have been attempted, the adjustments have generally been made so as to out almost but not quite through the stock, the uncut part of the thickness of the stock being left sufficiently small so that it can be easily torn away. Experience has shown that machines of this character are wholly unsatisfactory for commercial purposes, where an actual cut through the thickness of the stock is required. It is a physical impossibility to keep the machines in adjustment and the cuts are never uniform, due more particularly to sli ht variations in paper stock that are met with in every day practice.

For the reasons given, the two said prior art types of cutting against a bed have never been practically employed to any appreciable extent in the making of book matches, but, on the contrary, the art has been forced because of no better methods known to the art, to uniformly adopt and employ shearing dies in the manufacture of match combs. Prior to the advent of the present invention, practically all of the book matches commercially manufactured were made by shearing dies of the male and female type. It is well known that these dies are expensive, cannot be operated above a relatively slow speed, require the most careful adjustment, and necessitate the employment of skilled workmen in their operation.

With. the foregoing considerations in mind, the object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus whereby all the advantages of cutting against a bed may be obtained without the inherent disadvantages which from time immemorial have made such an operation impractical, and to provide such a method and apparatus as will more expeditiously, economically and efliciently function in the making of match cards, as compared to the manufacture of such cards through the employment of shearing dies. The present invention is based primarily upon the discovery that if a large number of knives are operated in a gang, and all so set that their cutting ed es lie in the same plane, these knives may, e brought a ainst a hard uny1elding surface without du ling the knlves. In other words, we have discovered that if the comb stock is placed upon a hard, unyielding surface, a. gang of keen edged blades may be forced through the stock and forcibly against said hard, unyieldin surface to cut the stock for the purpose of orming the comb strips without appreciably dulling the knives. The fact that the knives do not appreciably dull we believe to be explained by the fact that the pressure exerted by the knives upon the hard cutting bed is distributed over an almost infinite number of bearing points in the blade edges and is thus so distributed that the pressure at any particular point is not sufficient to effect a dulling or bending of the blade edge. Experience has shown that, whatever the reason, the method and apparatus of this invention may be operated throughout protracted periods, during which the blades will remain sharp and operative for their cutting function. From the standpoint of the method, therefore, the invention, generally speaking, consists in making match comb blanks by positioning paper stock upon a hard, flat, unyielding surface, and then forcing or driving a gang of cutting knives simultaneously through said stock in a direction perpendicular to said unyieldin surface until the knives engage said surface or the purpose of forming a comb blank with splints. The knives engage the surface after passing throu h the stock with considerable pressure, an thus insure clean cuts devoid of any tearing action which has heretofore characterized cutting against soft beds.

From the standpoint of the apparatus of this invention, the invention consists, generally speaking, in a machine provided with a table having a hard, unyielding, plane cutting surface, with a cutting head movable toward and away from said surface, and carrying a gang of cutting knives, with the cutting edges of all of the knives occupying a common plane, so that when associated means moves the cutting head to drive the cutting edges of the knives into enga ement with the said hard, unyielding sur ace, the comb stock positioned upon said surface will be formed into a combv strip with cleanly cut edges. 7

In the practice of the method of this invention by apparatus as stated, the knives are all simultaneously forced through the paper stock and driven against the hard, unyielding surface of the bed with considerable force for the purpose stated. Commercial experience in the performance of the method of this invention by apparatus of the character described has shown the same to be of great practical importance and marked commercial merit. For the first time a satisfactory method and apparatus have been provided for the cutting of match cards by knives operating against a bed, and production has been increased to an astonishing degree over that possible under the best prior practice.

Aside from the cutting with the gang knives against a hard, unyielding surface, as stated, the present invention embodies other features of novelty having to do more particularly with the so-called offsetting or staggering of the splints of the comb, as will be hereinafter more fully described, although the present invention is not limited to the inclusion of this staggering operation in the formation of the combs.

Features of the invention other than those specified will be apparent from the following detailed description and annexed drawings, and from the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, we have illustrated in Figure 1 in side elevation, a suitable form of machine embodying an application of our invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged side elevation of the cutting mechanism.

Figure 3 is an enlarged detail partly broken away and with parts omitted, looking from right to left at Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a plan view partly broken away showing a match comb strip completely formed and provided with an ignition tip.

Figure 5 is a view looking upwardly at Figure 4. i

Figure 6 is a view looking from left to right at the feed rolls shown in Figure 1.

Figure 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of one of the match splints.

Figure 8 is a plan view partly broken away, illustrating the frame for holding the knives for cutting the match splints.

Figure 9 is another knife for cutting off comb strips.

Figure 10 is a plan view of another knife for cutting out every eleventh match splint between the groups or sets of splints intended for each book.

Figure 11 is a front elevation of one of the knives such as are retained in the frame shown in Figure 8.

Figure 12 is a plan view of the grating shown at the bottom of Figure 3.

In operation, a strip of paper stock, such as may be taken from a roll of card, is fed down the incline 12 between the guides 13, 13'. From that point, the stock passes between the rolls 14, 15, suitably mounted as shown, and preferably suitably connected by gears such as 16, 17. Upon the shaft 18 of the lower roller is preferably mounted a suitable ratchet wheel 19, adapted to be engaged by a suitable pawl such as 20, said pawl being suitably mounted in a lever 21 also attached to the shaft 18 of ratchet wheel 19, the outer end being pivotally connected as indicated at 22 to a rod such as 23, the lower end of which is pivotally connected at 24 to a cam 25, mounted upon the shaft 26, which also carries the gear wheel 27, driven by the pinion :28, upon the drive. shaft 29, suitably mounted in the frame 30 of the machine. As the stock feeds rightwardly through the machine, it passes beneath the cutting mechanism, shown to better advantage in Figure 2, wherein it will be observed that a suitable tool holder or cutter head 31 is suitably mounted in or formed as a part of the plunger 32, provided with bolts such as 33, 34. Referring now more particularly to Fig. 8, it will be observed that a suitable rectangular frame 35 is provided with beveled sides as indicated at 36 in Figure 2, and separating members 37, and also a knife retaining rod 38. Knives 39, such as shown in Figure 11, are secured within the rectangular openings 40, and are held apart by suitable separators 41, also retained upon the rod 38, the cutting edge of the knife extending downwardly as shown in Figure 2. This frame and its knives are then bolted beneath the plunger 32 and to the cutter head 31 by bolts 33, the opposite side being retained by bevels 36, in block 42, retained by the bolt 34, said block 42 carrying other knives shown in Figures 9 and 10, the knife 43, shown to advantage in Figure 10, being adapted to cut away single match sticks, thereby forming the row of match sticks into groups for individual books or packages. and the knife 44, shown to advantage in Figure 9, being adapted to cut off each successive row of matches.

As the strip of stock 45 passes rightwardly beneath the cutters, the knives 39 first de-- scend and cut or separate the individual match splints. The next intermittent movement or feed of the card or strip carries the formed match splints in a row beneath the block 42, the cutting edges of the knife 43 now descending and cutting out say every eleventh match splint, leaving the match splints in groups of ten, and the next time the stock carries the same beyond the straight edge knife 44, which severs the thus formed comb strip from the stock. The next intermittent feed or impulse of the stock 45 pushes the cut-off comb strip beneath the stripper or plunger 46, which pushes the cutoff match splints down upon the chute 47 into the hopper 75, leaving the strip with groups of ten or any other desirable number, and for said purpose the card may be resiliently held at 49. l

At the conclusion of the foregoing operation, the comb strip is again intermittently moved or pushed forward on to a table 7 6b which forms a continuation of the table 7611. This table 7 6b is provided along its free end with slots extending perpendicular to said end so that the end may be said to be castellated or of substantially comb shape. The slots of this comb-like table are spaced apart transversely of the table, so that as the comb strip comes to rest on the table 76?), there is a slot beneath every second match splint, the intermediate splints resting upon the solid portion of the table.

Below the table 7 6b and secured thereto on a transverse pivot 53 is a comb-like flap or grating 51, the free end of which is normally held at the desired elevation by a spring 52. This spring bears against the under side of a roller 55 and the spring and roller arrangement specified is duplicated at the opposite sides of the table.

Carried by the part 32 is a staggering former 50 shown in edge elevation in Figure 3 as embodying a series of downwardly extending fins spaced apart a distance substantially equal to the width of a match splint and also carried by the part 32 are pushers 54 so positioned that when the part 32, descends they will engage with the rollers 55.

Thus when the part 32 descends while there is a comb strip on the table 76?), pushers 54 will first engage with the rollers 55 and the fins 50 will immediately thereafter engage with alternate splints of the comb strip, and as a result said alternate splints will be bent downwardly through the slots at the end'of the table 7 65. By this operation, the alternate splints of the comb strip will be offset or staggered. As soon, however, as the part 32 is lifted, the springs 52 will elevate the pivoted flapv 51 which will bear against the offset splints and return them to a uniformity of offset, so that even though the fins 50 bend these splints in a more or less uniform manner, the operation of the flap 51 will render the offset absolutely uniform for all of the offset splints.

The next impulse of the feed pushes this formed comb strip upon the discharge belt 56 driven upon pulleys 57, 58, pulley 57 being mounted upon a suitable shaft 59, having a sprocket 60, driven by a sprocket chain 61, and engaging the sprocket 62 upon the shaft 63, which also carries a pulley such as 64, provided with a belt 65, which is twisted and passes over the shaft 26, thereby driving the said discharge belt 56. The match comb strips, substantially in the form shown in Figures 4 and 5, now accumulate in a pile or otherwise as they leave the discharge belt 56. Of course it will be understood that after the splints have been dipped or tipped as shown in Figures 4 and 5, the several groups of twenty or any other arbitrary number are cut apart and fastened in covers in the usual manner.

For stopping the machine, a suitable bar 66 (see Figure 6), may be slidably mounted at the left of the feeding rolls upon suitable pins 67, 68, adapted to travel in slots such as 69,

70, in said bar, the righthand end of said bar looking at Figure 6 being provided with a suitable cam 71, adapted to engage beneath the pin 72, in the pawl 20, so that as said bar 66 is pushed rightwardly looking at Figure 6, said cam slips beneath said pawl 20 when in its upward position, so that the further movement of the operating lever 21 causes said pawl to ride upon said cam instead of upon the face of said ratchet wheel 19. 73 indicates a suitable spring for retaining the pawl upon the face of the s rocket wheel or cam, as the case may be. 5 indicates the rounded upper surface of the splint produced in the cutting of the same upon the table or platform 7 6.

The table or platform 76 constitutes the cutting bed or table and, as hereinbefore stated,

comprises a plane, hard, unyielding surface.-,

By this term we mean a surface which is hard and unyielding, as compared with prior practice, of which the surfaces of wood, copper, aluminum and rubber are typical. These enumerated materials are not in any sense hard or unyielding. They have been used in prior practlce because of their character or property of being soft and yielding to impact of a knife or knives, and thus when the term hard and unyielding surface is employed, it designates a surface of material which will not yield to the pressure of the knives in the manner of the materials to which we have referred. In practice, the casting of the frame of the machine may in part constitute the hard, unyielding table against which the cutting occurs, in which case the table will be of cast iron or cast steel. However, we prefer in commercially employing'this invention, to attach to the casting frame a plate or table so that it may be removed and relaced if desired. This plate or table may he of iron or steel, or other appropriate material having a hard, unyielding surface, and for the purpose of example, it maybe noted that .30 carbon steel has been used very satisfactorily for this purpose, while the knives employed have been made from printers rule, ground and sharpened at one edge. l/Ve may also use tool steel hardened if desired and harder than the knives themselves, but such plates are expensive and not necessary to satisfactory performance of the cutting operation as described.

In practice knives of the character specified have been actually forced against a table of the character specified under pressures varying upwardly of one-half ton, and yet actual experience has shown that these knives can be successfully operated without resharpening to produce suflicient combs for the manufacture of several million complete match books. Of course these knives will dull in time, but they can be resharpened several times.

The foregoing example which we have given as to the particular material employed in the manufacture of the bed and knives, and as to actual pressure with which the gang of knives is forced against the bed, is advanced for the purpose of illustration only and this invention is not limited or restricted to these details. In practically carrying out the invention, the comb stock may be passed successively through the cutting and staggering operations as hereinbefore described, or it may be cut to form the comb strips and thereafter discharged from the machine, to be subsequently acted upon by other mechanism serving to stagger the splints, without departing from this invention. Furthermore, we have described and shown the making of a. comb with every eleventh splint cut away, as shown in Figure 4. It is within the purview of this invention, however, to dispense with the knife which cuts away the eleventh splint, so that no splints will be cut away, the actual combs being subsequently formed by longitudinally subdividing the comb strip along lines of certain of the transverse cuts in said strip. lVe are aware as hereinbefore stated that it has been proposed to position stock upon a table and to out said stock by knives intended to be so adjusted that they have a depth of cut equal to the thickness of the stock, so that the knives will not actually engage with the face of the table. Huhnd Patent No. 1,553,900 dated September 15, 1925 and Duryee Patent No. 187 ,223, dated February 13, 1877 are examples of apparatus operating on this principle. Accordingly, we make no claim to apparatus of this character, the invention being directed as hereinbefore stated to methods and machines wherein the knives forcibly engage a table having a hard, unyielding surface as hereinbefore described.

, This application constitutes a continuation in part of our application, Serial No. 190,684, filed May 12, 1927, Machine for making book matches. 7

We claim:

1. In a machine for making book match combs, a table having a hard, unyielding, plane, cutting surface, a cutting head movable toward and away from said surface, a gang of cutting knives carried by the head with the cutting edges of all of said knives occupying a common plane, and means to move the cutting head to drive the cutting edges into engagement with said hard, unyielding surface, through comb stock positioned between the cutting surface and said head.

2. In a machine for making book match combs, a table having a hard, unyielding, plane, cutting surface, a cutting head movable toward and awayfrom said surface, a gang of cutting knives carried by the head with the cutting edges of all of said knives occupying a common plane, means to move the cutting head to drive the cutting edges into 4. Ina machine for making book match acted upon by the knives.

3. In a machine for making book match combs, a table having a hard, unyielding, plane, cutting surface, a cutting head movable toward and away from said surface, a gang of cutting knives carried by the head with the cutting edges of all of said knives occupying a plane parallelto the plane of the cutting surface, means for simultaneously forcing all of said cutting edges under pressure against said hard, unyielding surface, and means for positioning comb stock on the surface in cooperative relation with the knives.

combs, means for cutting comb stock to form a fiat blank with splints, a table provided therein with slots spaced apart a distance substantially equal to the width of a splint, means for feeding flat blanks into a position wherein alternate splints will overlie the slots in the table, and means for bending the splints which are juxtaposed with the slots through said slots for the purpose of staggering said splints.

5. In a machine for making book match combs, means for cutting comb stock to form a blank with splints, a table provided therein with slots, means for positioning the blank on said table with predetermined splints juxtaposed with the slots in the table, a splint manipulating element positioned below the table and cooperating with the slots, means for forcing the splints through the slots with which they are juxtaposed and for simultaneously retracting the splint manipulating element to cause bending of the splints into greater angular relation to the remainder of the blank than finally desired, said splint manipulating means being thereupon released to bear against and manipulate the splints into the desired angular relation of stagger with respect to the remainder of the blank.

6. In a machine for making book match combs, the combination of a table provided at one portion of its length with slots, a gang of knives operable above the unslotted portion of the table and adapted to be forced against the table to cut a comb blank embodying splints from match stock, means for thereafter feeding the blank to the slotted portion of the table wherein certain of the splints of the blank will be juxtaposed with the slots in the table, and means operable upon the splints which are juxtaposed with the slots to bend said splints through the slots in order to impart stagger thereto.

7. In a machine for making book match combs, the combination of a table provided at one portion of its length with slots, a gang of knives operable above the unslotted portion of the table and adapted to be forced against the table to cut a comb blank embody- I ing splints, from match stock, means for thereafter feeding the blank to the slotted portion of the table wherein certain of the splints of the blank will be juxtaposed with the slots in the table, means operable upon the splints which are juxtaposed with the slots to bend said splints through the slots in order to impart stagger thereto, a flap pivoted beneath the slotted portion of the table and normally impelled in the direction of the table, and means to retract the flap from engagement of the staggered splints until the bending means has staggered the splints and to thereupon permit the flap to engage with the staggered splints to produce uniformity of stagger.

8. In a machine for making book match combs, a cutting table, means for feeding comb stock thereon, knives above said table, and means for driving said knives through the stock while the stock is stationary, in combination with means for staggering the splints cut by the knives, said last mentioned means including a slotted table having parallel slots spaced apart and upon which table the card is fed, and means for pushing alternate splints through the slots in the table.

9. The method of making match comb blanks which consists in positioning paper stock upon a hard, flat, unyielding surface and then driving a gang of cutting knives simultaneously through the stock and forcibly against said surface to form a comb blank with splints.

10. The method of making match comb blanks which consists in positioning paper stock upon a hard, flat, unyielding, surface, and then driving a gang of cutting knives simultaneously through said stock in a direction perpendicular to said unyielding surface until said knives forcibly engage with said surface, for the purpose of forming a comb blank with splints.

In testimony whereof we have signed the foregoing specification.

CHARLES GUSTAVSON. EDWVARD VAN HOOFSTADT. LEO GREENBAUM. 

